In Malaysia, work-from-home flexibility has become a basic talent expectation. Six in 10 respondents said that they want employers to offer hybrid work as a benefit to improve their work-life balance, but only 37 per cent are willing to take a pay cut to work remotely.
Leading HR agency Randstad has released the ‘Reimagine Work: Managing Shifts in Talent Expectations’ white paper in Malaysia. This white paper draws insights from Randstad’s new Talent Expectations survey and other research to help businesses gain insights into the changing labour landscape to engage with today’s talent in a meaningful way.
Fahad Naeem, County Director at Randstad Malaysia said, “We have tried to tackle the definition of work-life balance for a long time in Malaysia. With the research supporting the white paper, we now understand that it is all about work flexibility in Malaysia and employers now have more information to develop more comprehensive workforce strategies that will meet these new talent expectations.”
“What are the top benefits that can help you achieve a good work-life balance?”
Work-Life Balance is All About Flexibility
Three in 10 respondents in Malaysia defined work-life balance as having the flexibility to work anytime and anywhere they want as long as they can meet all the deadlines. According to the survey, 39 per cent of respondents said that they tracked all their projects and tasks to ensure they have evidence of being productive when working from home.
“How do you define work-life balance?”
More than four in 10 respondents also said that the best thing they like about hybrid work is that they could have more flexibility and personal time at night and during the weekends.
“What do you like best about hybrid and remote work?”
Naeem said, “We have become more aware that time is a non-renewable resource. To an employee, the amount of time they can save from going back and forth to the office can be better spent with their family and friends. This is why we are starting to see many job seekers looking for new employers that offer benefits such as flexible work or shorter working week.”
“Companies that are looking to save costs by reducing the salaries of their remote workforce must reconsider the impact of such a move, especially since employees believe they have become more productive while working flexibly or remotely.”
Tackling Overwhelming Workload
The Reimagine Work white paper revealed that the flexibility to work anywhere and anytime is central to employees’ sense of work-life balance, enabling them to carve out more personal time. However, when workloads become unmanageable, the impact on work-life balance far exceeds the inconvenience of being office-bound.
An overwhelming workload was the most-cited factor that threatened work-life balance for 73 per cent of respondents. An overwhelming workload could also be exacerbated by other reasons such as poor communication that may lead to overtime as employees will need to take more time to understand and clarify the tasks that were assigned to them.
“What are the top situations that lead to poor work-life balance for you?”
When asked what Malaysians dislike most about hybrid work, 1 in 3 respondents said they are unable to communicate or work effectively with their boss and colleagues and 32 per cent worked overtime because their bosses and colleagues like to send emails and text messages at night and on weekends.
Naeem encourages HR professionals to further clarify their flexible work policy to help improve overall organisational work-life balance.
“Flexible working should not mean that everyone is available for 24 hours, 7 days of the week. If employees end up working more hours for the same salary because of poor communication, it is likely that they will leave for another company as well. HR professionals should be setting clearer policies on flexible work such as fixing core hours for team activities, reducing the number and frequency of meetings and narrowing communication channels down to a few that work best for the company.”
